A left-arm orthodox spinner, Jon Holland went from uncapped state player to making it to the Australian squad within a year. He made his initial appearances for Victoria early in 2008-09 when Bryce McGain was injured and Cameron White was in India with the Test squad. Although his results from four Sheffield Shield outings, five one-day games and two Twenty20s were moderate, he showed enough potential to earn a place in the Australia A team that beat Pakistan A in Queensland in mid-2009. His solid performances in that series led a call-up to the 15-man squad for the seven-ODI tour to India, although he did not play a game.

The 2009-10 season did not feature the big steps forward Holland would have wanted; he took six wickets in three Sheffield Shield matches and none in four FR Cup outings, although he was the preferred slow man in the Big Bash. The season ended with a shoulder injury that required surgery for Holland, who had also missed most of 2007-08 with a shoulder problem. A former Australia Under-19s player who has also spent time at the Centre of Excellence, Holland is a naturally attacking spinner who has subtle changes of pace and can turn the ball sharply. A former sports science student, he was upgraded to a full Victoria contract for 2009-10 after three years on the rookie list.Cricinfo staff September 2010